I have heard parents say “children should come with a warning label.” For the most part I've gathered that the warning label would be for the child's safety. But I think children should come with a warning label that is intended for the safety of adults.

I am a professional child care provider. I have nannied for five different families, babysat for more than twenty families on a regular basis, and worked at a daycare center. I have been doing this for twelve years. And I have received a plethora of ailments from the precious children I babysit.

The common cold is an obvious one. I can't count the times that I have shown up to babysit and the parent's say “he's got the sniffles, but it's nothing to worry about.” I would, of course, wake up the next morning with the sniffles. My sniffles were not nearly as cute as the kid's sniffles either.

The most recent affliction was given to me by a tiny baby. This virus is also common, though usually parents know the signs and won't have a babysitter come. Unfortunately for me, this tiny baby only had the very early signs, and because she slept most of the time you couldn't see how red her eyes were. Yes, that's right- pink eye.

I was banned from the public, from my computer, from the television remote. I finally got some  latex gloves that I could wear so I could take a break from constantly washing my hands or using hand sanitizer.

The worst experience I've had occurred at a daycare. There was an outbreak of scabies. Scabies is an awful, evil, relentlessly itchy affliction. When one has scabies one has a parasite. This parasite causes a rash that itches so bad it wakes you from your sleep. I didn't sleep through the night for weeks. I had to put a special cream on my arms and legs. I had to wash and iron all of my clothes. I had to bag up anything that was in my room and quarantine it for 24 hours.

Needless to say I quit my job. I still, to this day, have the occasional nightmare and all I can hear is the sound of someone scratching. It's horrible and disgusting and it came from a kid.

So let me warn Arkansas Tech students who babysit as their primary source of income- kids come with an unending supply of malicious germs. They are quite dangerous. Especially during flu season.

If you babysit for a family on a regular basis you need to make sure you get the flu shot. You should also make sure all the family members plan on getting the flu shot. Getting the flu in college isn't the same as getting the flu in high school. There are no parent's to take care of you, your roommate is certainly not going to, and it may be hard to get caught up with all the work you miss.

Babysitting can be a good source of income, but if you don't have medical insurance you may want to rethink your job. The babies might be adorable, the kids might be hilarious, but just know that those adorable and hilarious little ones are carriers of infectious diseases.